Fuse Plug System

Abstract

To provide a sacrificial plug system.SOLUTION: A sacrificial plug (100) system includes: a component having a surface (85) and at least one cooling hole (108) in the surface; a sacrificial plug integrally formed with the component and integrally formed in the at least one cooling hole, where the sacrificial plug includes a top portion (110), a cover portion (120) and a bottom portion, the bottom portion integrally formed in, engaged with and connected to the at least one cooling hole; and at least one connective member integrally formed with the bottom portion of the sacrificial plug and integral with an inner wall (109) of the at least one corresponding cooling hole, each of the at least one connective member being severable from the corresponding inner wall when a force is applied to the top portion, thus permitting the sacrificial plug to be removed from the at least one corresponding cooling hole.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to sacrificial plug systems, and more particularly to sacrificial plug systems for components having cooling holes that protect the configuration of the cooling holes during post-formation processing.

Summary of the Invention

[0002] A first aspect of an embodiment shows a sacrificial plug system comprising a component having a surface and at least one cooling hole in the surface, and a sacrificial plug integrally formed with the component and integrally formed within at least one cooling hole. The sacrificial plug has an upper portion, a cover portion, and a lower portion, the lower portion including a lower portion integrally formed with, engaged with, and connected to at least one cooling hole. The sacrificial plug system also includes at least one connecting member integrally formed with the lower portion of the sacrificial plug and integral with the inner wall of each respective at least one cooling hole, each at least one connecting member being cuttable from the respective inner wall when a force is applied to the upper portion, thus enabling the sacrificial plug to be removed from each respective at least one cooling hole.

[0003] Exemplary aspects of the present disclosure are designed to solve the problems described herein and / or other problems not discussed.

[0004] These and other features of the present disclosure will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of various aspects of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that illustrate various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0005]

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0006] It should be noted that the drawings of the present disclosure are not drawn to scale. The drawings are intended to illustrate only typical aspects of the present disclosure and should not therefore be considered as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. In the drawings, like reference numerals represent like elements among the drawings.

[0007] As a first issue, in order to clearly explain the current technology, when referring to a sacrificial plug system for a component having cooling holes, which protects the configuration of the cooling holes, particularly during any post-formation processing, it will be necessary to select specific specialized terms. As much as possible, general industrial specialized terms will be used and utilized in the same meaning as their accepted meaning. Unless otherwise stated, such specialized terms should be given a broad interpretation consistent with the context of this application and the appended claims. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that in many cases, a particular component may be referred to using several different or overlapping terms. What may be described herein as a single part may include other contexts as consisting of multiple components and may be referred to in other contexts. Alternatively, what may be described herein as including multiple components may be referred to elsewhere as a single part.

[0008] Also, in this specification, some descriptive terms may be used repeatedly, and it should be useful to define these terms at the beginning of this section. These terms and their definitions are as follows, unless otherwise specified. As used in this specification, "downstream" and "upstream" are terms indicating directions with respect to the working fluid passing through the turbine engine, or for example, the flow of air through the combustor, or the flow of a coolant through one of the component systems of the turbine. The term "downstream" corresponds to the direction of the fluid flow, and the term "upstream" refers to the opposite direction of the flow. The terms "forward" and "rearward" refer to directions, unless otherwise specified, where "forward" refers to the front of the engine or the compressor end, and "rearward" refers to the rear of the engine or the turbine end.

[0009] Often, it is required to describe components arranged at different radial positions with respect to the central axis. The term "radial" refers to movement or position perpendicular to the axis. For example, if a first component is located closer to the axis than a second component, then in this specification, it is stated that the first component is "radially inward" or "inboard" of the second component. On the other hand, if a first component is located farther from the axis than a second component, then in this specification, it can be stated that the first component is "radially outward" or "outboard" of the second component. The term "axial" refers to movement or position parallel to the axis. Finally, the term "circumferential" refers to movement or position around the axis. It will be understood that such terms can be applied in relation to the central axis of the turbine.

[0010] In addition, as described below, some descriptive terms can be used regularly in this specification. The terms "first", "second", and "third" can be used interchangeably to distinguish one component from another, and are not intended to indicate the location or importance of individual components.

[0011] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "comprise" and / or "comprising", as used herein, specify the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. "Optional" or "optionally" means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur, and that the description includes instances where the event occurs and instances where it does not.

[0012] When an element or layer is referred to as being "on", "engaged to", "connected to" or "coupled to" another element or layer, it can be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on", "directly engaged to", "directly connected to" or "directly coupled to" another element or layer, intervening elements or layers may not be present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., "between" relative to "directly between", "adjacent" relative to "directly adjacent", etc.). As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0013] As described above, the present disclosure relates to a sacrificial plug system. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a sacrificial plug system for components having cooling holes that are protected from, for example, coatings that bridge (crosslink) or block the cooling holes in the component to avoid subsequent post-formation processing.

[0014] To facilitate the understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is known that the pace of change and improvement in power generation, aviation, and other fields has been accompanied by extensive research to manufacture the components used in these fields. The conventional manufacture of metal, plastic, or ceramic components generally involves milling or cutting a region from a slab of material and then machining and modifying the removed material to obtain a part, which may be simulated using a computer model, for example, with drafting software. Manufacturing components that can be formed from metal include, for example, airfoil components for installation within turbomachinery such as aircraft engines or power generation systems.

[0015] Additive manufacturing (AM) includes a wide variety of processes for manufacturing components by forming successive layers of material rather than removing material. Therefore, in additive manufacturing, complex geometric shapes can be formed without using any kind of tool, mold, or fixture and with little or no waste of material. Instead of machining components from solid billets of material where most of the material is cut away and discarded, the materials used in additive manufacturing are only those required to form the components.

[0016] Additive manufacturing techniques typically involve obtaining a three-dimensional computer-aided design (CAD) file of the component to be formed, electronically slicing the component into layers, for example, 18 to 102 micrometers thick, and creating a file with a two-dimensional image of each layer that includes vectors, images, or coordinates. This file can then be loaded into a preparatory software system that interprets the file so that the component can be constructed by different types of additive manufacturing systems. In forms of additive manufacturing such as three-dimensional (3D) printing, rapid prototyping (RP), and direct digital manufacturing (DDM), the component is formed by selectively dispensing, sintering, shaping, depositing, etc. material layers.

[0017] In metal powder additive manufacturing techniques such as direct metal laser melting (DMLM) (also called selective laser melting: SLM), successive metal powder layers are melted together to form the component. More specifically, after a fine layer of metal powder is evenly dispensed using an applicator on a metal powder bed, these are successively melted. Each applicator is in the form of a metal, plastic, ceramic, carbon fiber, or rubber lip, brush, blade, or roller and includes an applicator element that evenly spreads the metal powder on the build platform. The metal powder bed can be moved along a vertical axis. The process is carried out within a processing chamber having a precisely controlled atmosphere. Once each layer is formed, each two-dimensional slice of the geometric shape of the component can be fused by selectively melting the metal powder. Melting can be carried out by a high-power melting beam such as a 100-watt ytterbium laser, which completely welds (melts) the metal powder to form solid metal. The melting beam moves in the X-Y direction using a scanning mirror and has sufficient intensity to completely weld (melt) the metal powder to form solid metal. The metal powder bed can be lowered for each subsequent two-dimensional layer, and the process is repeated until the component is completely formed.

[0018] Furthermore, without limitation, turbine components such as airfoils, turbine blades, and vanes (nozzles) of a gas turbine engine often require complex cooling schemes in which cooling air flows through the airfoil and then is discharged through carefully configured cooling holes. For example, by way of mere illustration of the present disclosure, cooling holes of a component may include cooling holes at the trailing edge of the airfoil. The performance of a turbine blade is related to the ability to provide uniform cooling of the airfoil surface. Therefore, control of the size and shape of the cooling holes is important in the design of a turbine airfoil because the size and shape of the openings can determine the flow rate exiting a given hole, the distribution of holes across the airfoil, and the overall flow distribution within the cooling circuit. Other factors such as reverse flow margins are also affected by variations in the opening size. Thus, by protecting the intended configuration of the cooling holes, including after post-processing of components such as coating, the cooling holes can perform their intended function.

[0019] In addition to conventional drilling techniques such as laser machining and electrical-discharge machining (EDM), complex and advanced casting techniques can be used to obtain airfoils with correctly sized cooling hole openings in order to repeatedly control the opening size. Once cast, subsequent airfoil manufacturing operations must be performed so that the cast-to-size cooling hole openings are not processed by operations that would change some or all of the dimensions of the cooling hole openings.

[0020] However, due to the increasingly complex air passage criteria of some turbines, additive manufacturing processes (such as those described above) are being used to form turbine components. Additive manufacturing processes enable the formation of intricate and serpentine complex cooling passages and cooling hole openings in a manner that is simpler, more efficient, and less costly than some conventional forming methods.

[0021] In the increasingly harsh operating environments of turbine components, protective coatings are typically applied to turbine components during manufacturing and, in some cases, also during repair, regardless of how they are formed. Modern high-efficiency combustion turbines have inlet temperatures exceeding approximately 1,000 °C, and even higher inlet temperatures are expected as the demand for more efficient engines continues. Many components that form the combustor and turbine sections of the "hot gas path", such as combustor liners, transition ducts between the combustion section and the turbine section, and turbine stationary vanes, rotating blades, and ambient ring segments, are directly exposed to the highly reactive hot combustion gases. In addition to thermal stresses, these and other components are also exposed to mechanical stresses and loads that further wear out the components.

[0022] Many of the iron-based, cobalt-based, and nickel-based superalloy materials conventionally used to manufacture most of the combustion turbine components used in the hot gas path section of combustion turbine engines are insulated from the hot gas flow by coating the components with a protective coating in order to withstand long-term operation in this highly reactive hot combustion environment. Protective coatings include, but are not limited to, thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), bond coats, environmental barrier coatings (EBCs), combinations thereof, and other coatings currently known or later developed. The protective coating can be produced by a multi-step process that includes, for example, coating the surface that requires the protective coating with a bond coat and subsequent additional coatings, depending on the intended use of the turbine component and the environment associated with that use.

[0023] TBCs are highly advanced material systems. These coatings serve as protective coatings to insulate components from large thermal loads over long periods by utilizing thermal insulation materials that can maintain a significant temperature difference between the load-bearing alloy and the coating surface. By doing so, these coatings can enable higher operating temperatures while limiting the thermal exposure of structural components, and extend the component lifespan by reducing oxidation and thermal fatigue.

[0024] TBCs are applied to turbine components in a variety of ways. Spraying is often used to apply TBCs (or other coatings). Exemplary spraying processes include, but are not limited to, plasma spraying in both air and vacuum, cold spraying, electrostatic spraying, electron beam physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, thermal spraying, high-velocity oxy-fuel coating, physical vapor deposition, combinations thereof, and other spraying techniques now known or later developed.

[0025] One aspect of spray coating a component such as blade 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes control or lack thereof of the spray around cooling holes 108 of blade 10. Control means that the spray avoids bridging around cooling holes 108 and the subsequent need for rework. Of course, the coating or other post-treatment / post-formation processing of the component must not prevent the airfoil from meeting the operating requirements, including the airflow requirements of the cooling air passing through the airfoil and exiting through the cooling holes on the airfoil surface.

[0026] One post-processing / post-formation coating result to avoid is "bridging," which is when a subsequent post-formation coating process covers and changes the spacing between cooling holes and / or closes off the cooling holes. Bridging can be caused by too much post-formation coating process material between and possibly within the cooling holes, thus reducing the opening size of the cooling holes. If there is too much post-formation coating process material, one or more of the cooling holes may actually be completely covered or bridged. Of course, bridging should be controlled and kept to a minimum as much as possible to maintain the expected functionality of the cooling holes.

[0027] As discussed in detail below, bridging is due to a "shadowing" effect of the spray fluid (e.g., TBC, although not intended to be a limiting embodiment) as it is deposited on the component, and herein on the blade 10. The shadowing effect can be best visualized by placing an object in front of a light source and observing the shadow cast by the object. The light rays passing around the object represent the spray fluid being deposited, and the shadow cast by the object represents voids in the deposited spray fluid. However, holes that are too small or too close together (such as cooling holes 108) can form bridges because the coating can build up on itself and "bridge" over the holes in a natural process called shadowing. In these holes, the coating can block the holes. Also, the coating material may not bond or adhere tightly to the component or substrate. Thus, rework may be required to clean "bridge" holes 108 (where the coating has built up over the target areas and holes) or recoat in places (where the coating is not tightly bonded or adhered to the component or substrate), which can increase processing time, require additional resources, result in lost opportunity costs, etc.

[0028] In view of the above, the present disclosure describes a system, method, and structure for preventing the deposition of a coating into cooling holes. In addition to reducing or substantially eliminating changes in the size and shape of the cooling holes due to coating material entering the cooling holes by bridging, a further advantage of the present disclosure in preventing the coating within the cooling holes is that the amount of coating material consumed by the coating operation can be reduced.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 1, the turbine blade 10 includes an airfoil 80. The airfoil 80 includes a leading edge 81 and a trailing edge 82, a pressure sidewall 83, and a suction sidewall 84. The pressure sidewall 83 is connected to the suction sidewall 84 at the leading edge 81 and the trailing edge 82. The airfoil 80 further includes a tip portion 40 and a root portion 30 connected by a fillet 41 by the pressure sidewall 83, the suction sidewall 84, the leading edge 81, and the trailing edge 82. The root portion 30 includes a platform 32 and a dovetail 31.

[0030] The turbine blade 10 includes at least one cooling cavity 88 between the pressure sidewall 83 and the suction sidewall 84 (only one cavity 88 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 for ease and clarity of illustration). Each cooling cavity 88 is in fluid communication with one or more cooling holes 108, 109. The plurality of cooling holes 108 includes, but is not limited to, leading edge cooling holes and trailing edge cooling holes 108 that extend along and through the leading edge 81 and the trailing edge 82. The trailing edge cooling holes 108 are substantially circular, but considering their positions on the curved trailing edge 82, a slightly elliptical or elongated configuration is possible for those trailing edge cooling holes 108. For the purposes discussed herein, reference can be made to either circular cooling holes or cooling holes of other configurations, which are aspects of the present disclosure. The use of the singular “cooling hole” or the plural “cooling holes” is not intended to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure unless specifically discussed. The remainder of the description refers to the cooling holes 108.

[0031] The other cooling holes 109 are substantially circular and extend through the airfoil 80 at a body location that enables desired cooling of the blade 10 from an internal cooling passage of at least one cooling cavity 88. The other cooling holes 109 can be disposed at the tip 40 of the airfoil 80 as well as along a portion of the body of the airfoil 80.

[0032] According to aspects of the present disclosure, a sacrificial plug system including a sacrificial plug 100 or a cover (hereinafter, “sacrificial plug”) can be printed integrally with a component having an additively manufactured (i.e., printed) blade 10 within one or more cooling holes 108. By simultaneously additively manufacturing the component and the sacrificial plug 100 integrally and within the holes 108 of the component as a one-piece structure integral with the blade 10, alignment and proper placement of the sacrificial plug 100 within the cooling holes 108 are achieved. Thus, the placement of the sacrificial plug 100 reduces or eliminates bridging between cooling holes in the component during coating processing after additive manufacturing.

[0033] The structure of the sacrificial plug 100 will first be discussed, and then its integral additive manufacturing formation with exemplary turbine components and holes 108 will be described. The sacrificial plug 100, as embodied by the present disclosure and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, includes an upper portion 110, a cover portion 120, and a cooling hole engagement portion 130. The sacrificial plug 100 is formed as a single element, formed during additive manufacturing of a turbine component as described herein, and formed within the cooling holes 108 along with the cooling holes 108. This simultaneous formation essentially ensures that the sacrificial plug 100 and the cooling holes 108 are properly paired and aligned and disposed in an integrally connected form, as discussed below.

[0034] The upper part 110 extends upward from the turbine component in which the sacrificial plug 100 is formed. The upper part 110 has an elongated configuration that enables a user or the user's tooling to grip the upper part 110. As will be described below, by gripping the upper part 110 and manipulating the sacrificial plug 100, the sacrificial plug 100 can be removed from the cooling hole 108. Accordingly, the upper part 110 includes at least one of a knurled surface; a contoured surface that conforms to a finger, tool, or machine; a curved surface; a prismatic surface; a knobbed surface; a hooked surface; a surface that facilitates engagement with the machine and provides motive force for removal (see FIGS. 15-17 as described below), or any other structure that facilitates gripping that is currently known or will be developed in the future, but is not limited thereto, to facilitate gripping.

[0035] Further, the upper part 110 can be circular, elliptical, polygonal, or any other shape that enables and facilitates the gripping and removal of the sacrificial plug 100. The upper part 110 of the sacrificial plug 100 can be formed as at least one of a solid part, a hollow part, a structure formed in a lattice structure, or any other configuration that provides sufficient rigidity for removal, as described herein.

[0036] The cover part 120 covers the surface of the component surrounding the cooling hole 108 in which the sacrificial plug 100 is formed. The covering manner of the cover part 120 is caused by the additive manufacturing of the cover part 120. The additive manufacturing process forms the cover part 120 above the surface 85 of the turbine blade 10 at a distance A in the cooling hole 108 (FIG. 4). The distance A is large enough to allow a limited amount of coating to enter under the cover part 120. The cover part 120 is set above the surface 85 by a distance that allows the coating to flow around and under it to the surface 85.

[0037] However, the configuration of the cover portion 120 limits the amount of coating that can fit under the cover portion 120. The distance A is a set predetermined distance, and the controlled additive manufacturing provides a distance A upward from the surface 85 to the cover portion 120, taking into account the possible post-printing coating process that may be required. Thus, by understanding the post-printing coating process, the distance A can be set such that an acceptable amount of coating enters under the cover portion 120 and covers the surface 85, but does not bridge the holes 108. By intentionally and advantageously setting the distance A that limits the amount of coating under the cover portion 120, the sacrificial plug 100 prevents excessive coating material around the cooling holes 108 and prevents bridging between the cooling holes 108.

[0038] As shown, looking at FIGS. 2 and 3, the cover portion 120 generally has a hyperbolic paraboloid configuration, but there is no increase in the surrounding height on the x-axis. As an approximate hyperbolic paraboloid configuration, each cover portion 120 has an x-axis and a y-axis. The x-axis follows the apex of the trailing edge 82 on the curved component surface 85. The cover profile of the cover portion 120 along the x-axis generally reflects the component profile of the curved component surface 85. Further, in the y-axis, as the cover portion 120 extends to both the positive pressure side wall 83 and the negative pressure side wall 84, the cover portion 120 follows the curvature of the curved component surface 85 at the trailing edge 82.

[0039] As also shown in FIGS. 2-5, the cover portion 120 is not coaxial with the upper portion 110 or coaxial with the cooling holes 108. Rather, as seen in FIG. 3, the x-axis and the y-axis define the center C of the cooling holes 108 (at the virtual line in FIG. 3). The cover portion 120 is disposed eccentrically from the center C and aligns with the central axis TP of the upper portion 110 at an intermediate point C'. The intermediate point C' is on the x-axis but is disposed at a distance from the center C of the cooling holes 108.

[0040] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, by disposing the cover portion 120 with the upper portion 110, an extended overlap of the cooling holes 108 is provided in the larger side surface region 121 of the cover portion 120. The shorter side surface region 122 still overlaps the cooling holes 108 and covers the cooling holes 108. By forming the sacrificial plugs 100 in the adjacent cooling holes 108, the cover portion 120 is arranged such that each larger side surface region 121 (except for the first and last sacrificial plugs 100 in the columns without adjacent sacrificial plugs on both sides) is adjacent to each shorter side surface region 122.

[0041] The cooling hole engagement portion 130 is integrally formed during the additive manufacturing of the turbine component and is integrally connected to the peripheral inner surface 109 of the cooling hole 108. Thus, the sacrificial plugs 100 are integrally formed and connected to the turbine component as a unit before cutting and its removal (described later). The manner in which the cooling hole engagement portion 130 is connected to the cooling hole 108 at the peripheral inner wall 109 of the cooling hole 108 enables the sacrificial plugs 100 to be stably installed within the cooling holes 108 during additive manufacturing.

[0042] In the cooling hole engaging portion 130, although not limited thereto, a turbine component is formed for removably cutting the sacrificial plug 100 after a post-printing process / operation such as coating. Accordingly, the cooling hole engaging portion 130 has at least one separable connection portion, preferably two or more separable connection portions, between the cooling hole engaging portion 130 and the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108. This connection portion is formed during the additive manufacturing of the turbine component and the sacrificial plug 100 integrally as a single unit. The connection portion defines a separable, fragile, breakable, or separable connection portion (hereinafter referred to as a "separable connection portion") between the cooling hole engaging portion 130 and the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108 as discussed herein. This separable connection portion is strong enough to maintain the sacrificial plug 100 in place, but is fragile or brittle enough to allow separation between the cooling hole engaging portion 130 and the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108 when sufficient force is applied to the upper portion 110.

[0043] For example, without limiting the embodiments, the separable connection portion between the cooling hole engaging portion 130 and the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108 is formed during the additive manufacturing of the turbine component and the sacrificial plug 100. The separable connection portion 131 will be formed at the lowermost portion of the extent of the sacrificial plug 100 within the hole 108 according to the additive manufacturing process. The separable connection portion 131 can be formed as at least one separable connection member 131 (FIG. 5).

[0044] In FIG. 5, each separable connection member 131 includes at least one additively manufactured connection member 131 attached to both the cooling hole engagement portion 130 and the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108. Thus, considering the cuttable nature of the connection member 131, when a force is applied in the Z direction (FIG. 5) to the upper part 110 to remove the sacrificial plug 100 from the cooling hole 108, each connection member 131 will cut. Thereby, each connection member 131 can separate the cooling hole engagement portion 130 from the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108. In addition to the force applied in the Z direction, a rotational force (see arrow D in FIG. 5) can be applied to cut the connection member 131 from the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108. Once cut from the wall 109 of the cooling hole 108, the sacrificial plug 100 can be removed in the Z direction from the cooling hole 108.

[0045] The connection member 131 maintains the sacrificial plug 100 within the cooling hole 108 until sufficient force is applied to separate the sacrificial plug 100 from the wall 109 of the cooling hole 108. The number of connection members 131, and their positions, orientations, distributions, and structures with respect to those positions can vary according to aspects of the present disclosure. Further, the connection member 131 can include one or more of the connection members 131. The connection member 131 is discussed herein individually or in combination with other connection members 131. Further, at least one connection member 131 can be disposed at any portion of the cooling hole engagement portion 130 on the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108 as long as at least one connection member 131 is initiated during additive manufacturing at the lowermost point 135 of the cooling hole engagement portion 130.

[0046] Referring to FIGS. 6 - 14, various exemplary configurations of the connecting member 131 having the cooling hole engaging portion 130 on the inner peripheral surface 109 at the line 6 - 6 (FIG. 5) are shown. FIG. 6 shows the connecting member 131 in the form of two finger connecting members 131 that connect the cooling hole engaging portion 130 to the inner peripheral surface 109. FIG. 7 shows the connecting member 131 as three finger connecting members 131 that connect the cooling hole engaging portion 130 to the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108. In FIG. 7, during the additive manufacturing of the turbine component and the sacrificial plug 100, four or more connecting members 131 can be formed (see the virtual contour line). According to aspects of the present disclosure, the connecting members 131 formed during additive manufacturing can be arranged at regular intervals or irregularly and non - uniformly spaced as long as the connecting member 131 connects the cooling hole engaging portion 130 to the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108.

[0047] In FIG. 8, the connecting member 131 includes a triangular connecting member 131 that connects the cooling hole engaging portion 130 to the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108. In FIG. 8, the base of the triangular connecting member 131 can be additively manufactured from the turbine component and the sacrificial plug 100, either on the cooling hole engaging portion 130 or on the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108. Alternatively, the base of the inverted triangular connecting member 132 (only in FIG. 8) can be formed on the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108 and connected to the cooling hole engaging portion 130.

[0048] FIG. 9 shows a complete 360° circumferential array on a coolant hole engagement portion 130 that connects a triangular connecting member 131 formed during additive manufacturing of a turbine component and a sacrificial plug 100 to an inner circumferential surface 109 of a coolant hole 108. FIG. 10 shows another configuration of a connecting member 131 disposed on a coolant hole engagement portion 130 that connects to the inner circumferential surface 109 of the coolant hole 108. In FIG. 10, the connecting member 131 is formed in a "threaded" configuration during additive manufacturing. One or more of the threads 133 of the connecting member 131 may be formed on the coolant hole engagement portion 130 that engages the inner circumferential surface 109 of the coolant hole 108. Some of the threads 134 may be eliminated or may be formed spaced from the inner circumferential surface 109 of the coolant hole 108 in a stepped configuration. This stepped configuration may conserve material and facilitate cutting when force is applied to the upper portion 110 to remove the sacrificial plug 100.

[0049] FIG. 11 shows an elongate connecting member 131 on a coolant hole engagement portion 130 having an elongate engagement with the inner circumferential surface 109 of the coolant hole 108. The connecting member 131 may be formed in any of a variety of lengths, along with the coolant hole engagement portion 130, such that the connecting member 131 engages the inner circumferential surface 109 of the coolant hole 108. Additionally, any number of connecting members 131 may engage the inner circumferential surface 109 of the coolant hole 108. Further, any combination of connecting members 131 as discussed herein may be used with each other. Also, considering the constraints of two-dimensional drawings, the configuration of the connecting member 131 of FIG. 11 and other connecting members 131 within the scope of the present disclosure need not be "linear" and may have any shape and configuration in and out of the plane of the drawing, such as forming a helix around the coolant hole engagement portion 130.

[0050] Furthermore, according to aspects of the present disclosure, FIG. 11 shows a connecting member 131 including struts 135 interconnected by a web 134 of a cuttable member. In the configuration of FIG. 11, when a force is applied to remove the sacrificial plug 100 from the cooling hole 108, the connecting member 131 is cuttable when the struts 135 and the web 134 are cut. Also, as shown in FIG. 11, a further configuration of the connecting member 131 without strut fingers includes a web 136 of a cuttable member formed during the additive manufacturing of the turbine component and the sacrificial plug 100. In this aspect of FIG. 11, when a force is applied to remove the sacrificial plug 100 from the cooling hole 108 and the web 136 is cut, the connecting member 131 is cuttable.

[0051] FIG. 12 shows a further aspect of the connecting member 131 as embodied by the present disclosure. In FIG. 12, the connecting member 131 formed during additive manufacturing includes at least one connecting member 131 in which a region 137 of additively printed / additively manufactured controlled mechanical properties is formed. Region 137 includes material properties controlled during additive manufacturing having a reduced density, elasticity, and ductility, and an increased rigidity and brittleness compared to the remaining region 138 of the connecting member 131. Region 137 is a region where the connecting member 131 of FIG. 12 is likely to be cut, and the remaining region 138 remains intact on the cooling hole engagement portion 130. When the sacrificial plug 100 is removed from the cooling hole 108, the connecting member 131 moves upward within the cooling hole 108 together with the remaining region 138 on the connecting member 131. Any material (regardless of the source) within the cooling hole 108 can be trapped in the remaining region 138 of the connecting member 131 and moves with the connecting member 131, similar to a manual pump piston. Further, when the remaining region 138 is close to the wall 109 of the cooling hole 108, the connecting member 131 can function as a scraper for further removing material from the wall 109 of the cooling hole 108.

[0052] Another configuration of the cooling hole engagement portion 130 includes a connection member 131 and a capture member 141, as shown in FIG. 13. The capture member 141 is formed during the additive manufacturing of the turbine component and the sacrificial plug 100 and includes a valley or recess 140. Similar to what was described above with respect to FIG. 12, the connection portion 139 includes a material similar to the material of the region 137, and thus, the connection portion 139 is cut around it while the remaining portion of the connection member 131 remains intact. The recess 140 functions as a collector and retainer for the material within the cooling hole 108. When the sacrificial plug 100 is removed from the cooling hole 108, the material (regardless of the source) within the cooling hole 108 can be captured within the recess 140 and move with the recess 140, similar to a manual pump piston. Further, if the perimeter 139 remains close to the wall 109 of the cooling hole 108, the perimeter 139 can function as a scraper for further removing material from the wall 109 of the cooling hole 108.

[0053] FIG. 14 shows a further aspect of the connection member. In this aspect, the connection member 144 is formed during the additive manufacturing of the turbine component and the sacrificial plug 100 having the cooling hole engagement portion 130. The connection member 144 is additively manufactured in a generally circular configuration having gear-like teeth including a hub 145 and teeth 146. At least one, preferably two or more, of the teeth 146 are additively manufactured with the wall 109 of the cooling hole 108. The hub 145 can be additively manufactured as a rotatable element on the cooling hole engagement portion 130 such that when the sacrificial plug 100 is pulled out, the gear-shaped connection member 144 rotates about the hub 145. During rotation, the teeth 146 remaining on the gear-shaped connection member 144 can engage the wall 109. Similar to the collection member 138, the gear-shaped connection member 144 can function as a scraper for further removing material from the wall 109 of the cooling hole 108.

[0054] Alternatively, when the gear-shaped connecting member 144 does not rotate about the hub 145, the teeth 146 of the gear-shaped connecting member 144 can engage with the wall 109. When the sacrificial plug 100 is removed from the cooling hole 108, the gear-shaped connecting member 144 moves upward within the cooling hole 108. Any material (regardless of the source) within the cooling hole 108 can be trapped by and / or moved by the teeth 146.

[0055] As embodied by the present disclosure and as described above, removal of the sacrificial plug 100 can be accomplished by applying an upward force in the Z direction that is suitable for severing an additively manufactured connection between the connecting member 131 and the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108 in the engagement of the connecting member 131 with the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108. Further, as described above, a rotational force in the direction of arrow D may be applied to sever the connecting member 131 from the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108. In a further aspect of the present disclosure, a structure can be provided on the upper portion 110 of the sacrificial plug 100 to facilitate applying a rotational force in the direction of arrow D. The structure for facilitating the application of the rotational force enables a stronger grip by an individual. The above structure may provide an engagement with a mechanism for mechanically applying a rotational force to the structure.

[0056] In FIG. 15, the upper portion 110 of the sacrificial plug 100 includes a gear structure 111 additively manufactured with the upper portion 110. The gear structure 111 includes teeth 112 that can engage with a motive device to impart a rotational movement to the gear structure 111, thereby enabling rotation of the entire sacrificial plug 100. Thereby, the connecting member 131 can be severed from the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108. In one aspect of the present disclosure, a complementary gear 202 (FIG. 16) can engage with the teeth 112 of the gear structure 111 to rotate the gear structure 111 and the entire sacrificial plug 100 (in the D direction). Accordingly, the connecting member 131 can be severed from the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108.

[0057] Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 16, the gear 111 can mesh with a geared rack 200 including linear teeth 201. Thus, when the geared rack 200 translates (arrow R), the engagement of teeth 112 and 201 causes rotation of the sacrificial plug 100 via rotation of the upper portion 110. Rotation of the sacrificial plug 100 via rotation of the upper portion 110 (direction D) cuts the connecting member 131 from the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108. Thereafter, the sacrificial plug 100 can be moved out of the cooling hole 108 in the Z direction (FIG. 5).

[0058] FIG. 17 shows a further configuration for cutting the connecting member 131 from the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108. A strap or binding belt 300 (hereinafter, "belt" 300) is fitted over one or more gears 111 on the upper portion 110 of the sacrificial plug 100. The fitting of the belt 300 over one or more gears 111 is a frictional engagement such that the gears 111 rotate when the belt 300 moves in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction (arrow R in FIG. 17). The belt 300 rotates by frictional engagement with the teeth 112 and rotates the gears 111 to rotate the sacrificial plug 100 (direction D) via rotation of the upper portion 110. Rotation of the sacrificial plug 100 cuts the connecting member 131 from the inner peripheral surface 109 of the cooling hole 108. Thereafter, the sacrificial plug 100 can be moved out of the cooling hole 108 in the Z direction (FIG. 5).

[0059] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides for forming an upper portion 110 of a sacrificial plug 100 having an opening or slot 115 (particularly FIGS. 2 and 15) in an end face 117. The opening or slot (hereinafter “slot”) 115 is configured to be engaged by a mechanical device to impart rotation to the upper portion 110 and thus to the sacrificial plug 100. Rotation of the sacrificial plug 100 via rotation of the slot 115 severs the connection member 131 from the inner circumferential surface 109 of the cooling hole 108. The slot 115 can be a flat-head slot, a Philips or cross slot, a Robertson or other polygon slot, a ratchet slot, or any other slot configuration now known or hereafter developed. The slot 115 can be engagable with a complementary tool such as a screwdriver, drill, ratchet, driver, socket, Allen wrench, or any other rotation tool now known or hereafter developed.

[0060] A further aspect of the present disclosure includes forming the upper portion 110 of the sacrificial plug 100 in a polygonal shape. The polygonal shape of the upper portion 110 can engage a complementary tool such as, but not limited to, a ratchet, socket, wrench, pliers, or any other suitable device for imparting rotation. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 15, (in the figures for ease of illustration) the rightmost upper portion 110 is additively manufactured having an end face 117 of a polygonal shape 116 (illustrated as hexagonal for purposes of example only). Thus, rotation of the sacrificial plug 100 via rotation of the end face 117 of the polygonal shape 116 severs the connection member 131 from the inner circumferential surface 109 of the cooling hole 108.

[0061] As used throughout this specification and the claims, language that approximates is applicable to modify any quantitative expression that can vary within a reasonable amount without causing a change in the relevant basic function. Thus, values modified by terms such as "about," "approximately," and "substantially" are not limited to the precise values recited. In at least some instances, the language that approximates can correspond to the accuracy of the equipment for measuring the value. Here, as well as throughout this specification and the claims, limitations of ranges are combinable and / or replaceable, and such ranges are identified and include all sub-ranges subsumed therein, unless the context and language specifically dictate otherwise. "About" applied to a particular value of a range applies to both end values and can indicate + / - 10% of the recited value, unless particularly dependent on the accuracy of the equipment for measuring the value.

[0062] All corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of means-plus-function or step-plus-function elements in the following claims are intended to include any structures, materials, or acts for performing the functions in combination with other claimed elements specifically recited for carrying out the functions. The description of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. The embodiments have been chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the disclosure and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0063] 10 turbine blade 30 root portion 31 double-tail 32 platform 40 tip portion 41 fillet 80 Airfoil 81 Leading Edge 82 Trailing Edge 83 Positive Pressure Side Wall 84 Negative Pressure Side Wall 85 Surface 88 Cooling Cavity 100 Sacrificial Plug 108 Cooling Hole 109 Cooling Hole, Inner Peripheral Surface, Wall 110 Upper Part 111 Gear Structure, Gear 112 Tooth 115 Opening or Slot 116 Polygonal Shape 117 End Face 120 Cover Part 121 Larger Side Surface Area 122 Shorter Side Surface Area 130 Cooling Hole Engagement Part 131 Separable Connection Part, Finger Connection Member 132 Connection Member 133 Thread 134 Thread, Web 135 Strut, Lowest Point 136 Web 137 Area 138 Collection Member, Remaining Area 139 Connection Part 140 Recess 141 Capture Member 144 Connection Member 145 Hub 146 Tooth 200 Gear Rack 201 Tooth 202 Complementary Gear 300 Tie Belt A Distance C Center C’ Intermediate Point TP Central Axis

Claims

1. A sacrificial plug (100) system, wherein the sacrificial plug (100) system comprises a component having a surface (85) and at least one cooling hole (108) in the surface (85); a sacrificial plug (100) integrally formed with the component and integrally formed within the at least one cooling hole (108), the sacrificial plug (100) comprising an upper part (110), a cover part (120), and a lower part, the lower part including a lower part integrally formed with, engaged with, and connected to at least one cooling hole (108); at least one connecting member (131, 132, 144) integrally formed with the lower part of the sacrificial plug (100) and integral with an inner wall (109) of each respective at least one cooling hole (108), each at least one connecting member (131, 132, 144) being cuttable from the respective inner wall (109) of its respective at least one cooling hole (108) when a force is applied to the upper part (110), thereby enabling the sacrificial plug (100) to be removed from the respective at least one cooling hole (108).

2. The sacrificial plug (100) system according to claim 1, wherein the cover part (120) is disposed at a predetermined distance (A) above the surface (85) and the respective at least one cooling hole (108).

3. The sacrificial plug (100) system according to claim 2, wherein the cover part (120) includes a cover part contour, the component has a component contour, and the cover part contour reflects the component contour.

4. The sacrificial plug (100) system according to claim 2, further comprising a coating applied to the integrally formed component, the sacrificial plug (100), and the at least one connecting member (131, 132, 144), the predetermined distance (A) enabling the coating to enter below the cover part (120), preventing the coating from entering each respective at least one cooling hole (108), and preventing bridging of the coating between adjacent cooling holes (108) among the at least one cooling hole (108).

5. The sacrificial plug (100) system according to claim 1, wherein the integrally formed component, the sacrificial plug (100), and the at least one connecting member (131, 132, 144) are integrally additively manufactured.

6. The sacrificial plug (100) system according to claim 1, wherein the component includes a turbine blade (10), the surface (85) includes a trailing edge (82) having a plurality of the at least one cooling hole (108), and the plurality of the at least one connecting member (131, 132, 144) are formed in respective cooling holes (108) at the trailing edge (82) of the turbine blade (10).

7. The sacrificial plug (100) system according to claim 1, wherein the upper part (110) includes a configuration that enables rotation of the sacrificial plug (100) to cut each of the at least one connecting member (131, 132, 144) from the inner wall (109) of the respective at least one cooling hole (108).

8. The sacrificial plug (100) system according to claim 7, wherein the upper part (110) includes at least one of a knurled surface, a contoured surface, a curved surface, a prismatic surface, a bumpy surface, a hook surface, and a surface that provides a driving force for facilitating engagement and removal, and the upper part (110) includes at least one of a solid part, a hollow part, and a lattice part.

9. The sacrificial plug (100) system according to claim 7, wherein the upper part (110) includes a gear structure (111) integral with the upper part (110), the gear structure (111) includes teeth (112, 146), and the teeth (112, 146) engage with at least one power device to rotate the gear structure (111), thereby rotating the sacrificial plug (100) to cut the at least one connecting member (131, 132, 144) of the sacrificial plug (100).

10. The sacrificial plug (100) system according to claim 9, wherein the at least one power device includes at least one of a complementary gear (202), a gear rack (200) having straight teeth (201), and a binding belt (300).

11. The sacrificial plug (100) system according to claim 9, wherein the at least one power device engages with gear structures (111) on a plurality of sacrificial plugs (100).

12. The sacrificial plug (100) system of claim 9, wherein the upper part (110) includes an end face (117) having an opening (115), and the opening (115) engages with a mechanical device to rotate the gear structure (111), thereby rotating the sacrificial plug (100) to cut at least one of the connecting members (131, 132, 144) of the sacrificial plug (100).

13. The sacrificial plug (100) system of claim 4, wherein the cover part (120) is not coaxial with the axis of each respective at least one cooling hole (108).

14. The sacrificial plug (100) system of claim 1, wherein the at least one connecting member (131, 132, 144) includes a plurality of connecting members.

15. The plurality of connecting members are finger connecting members (131), polygonal finger connecting members (131, 132), threaded connecting members (131), webs (134, 136) of the connecting member (131), and webs surrounded by struts of the connecting member (131) The sacrificial plug (100) system of claim 14, including at least one of them.

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